Inktober 2024 (and Sundry Variations Thereof)

[Artemis Prime]

Inktober #3 Boots

 

A well-maintained orchard, heavy with fruits

Hanging from trees with deep, sturdy roots

I wish it were mine

But it isn't yet time

There are miles of trails still left in these boots.

[Everstorm]

Boots

[Artemis Prime]

12 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Boots

I love it - such a great moment captured in just a few quick lines.

[Artemis Prime]

Inktober #4 Exotic

 

This one was hard, doesn't quite fit the theme I had going with the first 3, but sometimes needs must.

 

In hindsight, I feel idiotic.

For me it's awkward, not erotic.

Please take no offense - 

I mistook what you meant

When you said your dancing was exotic.

[Ranger Hal]

Boots were hard.

[obax]

Combo time: 3 & 4 - Boots & Exotic (though the latter's a little thin, but it's all I could come up with). It feels slightly incomplete, but a weather headache kicked in 1/2 way though and I've lost the thread by today.

 

Spoiler

They still sit by the door. Thick leather, scuffed and creased, stained with the mud of distant lands and the blood of strange, exotic creatures, frayed laces hanging limp from rusty eyelets. Think of all the places I can go with these, he said the day he bought them, beaming from ear to ear as the shoeshine boy made them gleam. I remember that I smiled without meaning it, and that I said nothing, and that his grin faded just a little before I looked off down the street, not wanting him to read the doubt in my eyes. We lived in a hovel built from old crates and a broken rowboat, we weren’t going anywhere, new boots or no. 

 

How wrong I was. A phrase that’s often rueful, but in this case it’s laced with joy and wonder and nostalgic warmth. I miss him a great deal. The Greatest Explorer of Our Generation, the papers called him. Beloved of academics and nobles alike, though he was neither, travelling further and delving deeper than any other dared. Three books already, written about him and his discoveries, though not by him, he never took the time to learn to read or write. The stories may belong to him, but the journals were all mine.

 

Don’t mistake me, I don’t resent him or his fame. His dreams became real and I was happy to go along with them, to see the wonders of the ancients, to hold in my hands relics untouched for thousands of years. It was, ultimately, what doomed him, but until that fateful day, that one small moment of inattention on both our parts, it was a grand and exciting life.

 

[obax]

On 10/3/2024 at 8:04 PM, Everstorm said:

Boots

 I like this a lot. I'm always amazed at how a few simple lines can express so much character. This was definitely me as a child, clomping around in rubber boots to play in puddles and ponds.

[obax]

October 5 - Binoculars

 

Except it's pirates and fantasy, so I made it a spyglass, and you can't stop me. This one's a little longer, slightly over a page. Tiny bit of NSFW language.

 

Spoiler

The pirate life was not for her, as it turned out. This far out to sea there wasn’t much choice, however, and Sia owed them far too much debt anyway. She’d expected to be a bit more used to it after three weeks, though. If it kept going like this she might have to chance it the next time they came into port. A wave crashed into the bow of the ship, vibrating the deck and sending icy spray washing over her as the ship dropped down into the trough. She staggered to the railing, gripping it with numb hands as she emptied what was left of her guts into the inky water. By the gods, she’d never wanted to see flagstones under her feet so badly….

 

“Sia! Get up in the crow’s nest, Vess is puking his guts out up there!”

 

Sia draped herself over the railing for a moment, contemplating the idea of sending herself after her dinner, then pushed off the wet wood and stumbled towards the main mast. Hemna stood planted like a tree at its base, arms crossed, glaring at her with his strange purplish eyes, squinted in the rain. Sia gripped the rope of the ladder, her feet nearly sliding out from under her as the ship pitched wildly over another wave. “I’m puking my guts out down here, find someone else!”

 

Hemna shot out a hand, fingers digging painfully into her arm, and pulled her in close. “The Captain said I couldn’t throw you overboard, but there ain’t nothin’ to say I can’t rip your insubordinate tongue out.” He shoved her away and recrossed his arms. “Go.”

 

She gripped the rope and began to climb, seething. His would be the first throat she slit if it ever came to mutiny.

 

“Thank the gods.” Vess’s voice, thin and muffled by the wind whistling through the ropes as she scrambled into the wooden basket, her stomach already beginning to churn again. Vess looked up from where he was curled against the wall of the basket. “Shit, Sia. I thought he’d send Beate.” He pulled himself up and began to untie the anchor rope from around his hips. “What did you do that he hates you so much?”

 

Sia snatched the rope and wrapped it around herself. “Dared to exist, I guess.”

 

Vess gave her a quick smile. “I’ll make sure there’s some grog left for you,” he said, and swung a leg over the side.

 

Sia pulled the spyglass from its nook, holding it tight until she was certain Vess wouldn’t see, then touched the lens lightly with a finger. A spark of blue-white light, tiny but blinding, spread out from the lens and over the brass casing, seeping in through the seams and around rivets as it faded away. She then pulled a thin thread of golden light from the brass, weaving it around the railing of the basket to secure the spyglass in place, drawing it out further to sink the end into her eye. Around her, the night lit up and the clouds parted in her mind, revealing the sea and all her secrets. She turned a slow circle and only just spotted it, slightly to port, far in the distance even through the eye of the spyglass, deep in the heart of the storm: the hand of a god emerging from the waves, fingers twitching as the wind and spray swirled around it. She barked a gruff laugh, the sound whipped away by the wind, and shook her head. Of course. It made sense, really, even this deep into the Blightlines a storm didn’t last this long. She wiped the rain from her face and pulled the sodden hood of her cloak over her head, sinking down against the wall in misery. The thread pulled slightly at her eye, and in the distance a mighty hand clenched into a fist. She smiled as the waves shifted impossibly and the ship rolled and yawed with them until the bow pointed towards the hand. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to slit Hemna’s throat after all.

 

[StarRuby]

Hey lovelies, I forgot to upload my pictures, so instead I'm going to do a quick poetry dump. Creating art every day is important to me, but I need to remember that it isn't always necessary to go on to a visual medium. Without further ado, some poetry

 

DAY 2: DISCOVER 

Come with me, beloved one
Walk through the dirt
Towards the sun
Away from hurt
And through the trees
Come discover
Life with me. 

 

 

DAY 3: BOOTS (a haiku)

Knee high riding boots
Slide into saddle stirrups
The lawman comes home.

 

DAY 4: EXOTIC (a sonnet)

Guava fruit with strawberries
Pineapple fresh, a juicy treat
Honey made by special bees
For all the world is ours, my sweet

 

Avocados ripe and green
Soft and decadent and fresh.
A world of taste remains unseen
Flavor waiting to enmesh.

 

Star fruit and rambutan with rice

Njera, pita, crepes, and naan

Halo-Halo packed with ice

Breakfast served at break of dawn.

 

Through cakes and pies and rich fondue
I would give the world to you

 

DAY 5: Binoculars

I sat for hours waiting
for a flame throated warbler to land.
I sat for hours waiting
With binoculars in hand. 
I sat for hours waiting
For that last call from you.
I won't spend hours waiting
For love that isn't true. 

[obax]

43 minutes ago, StarRuby said:

Hey lovelies, I forgot to upload my pictures, so instead I'm going to do a quick poetry dump. Creating art every day is important to me, but I need to remember that it isn't always necessary to go on to a visual medium. Without further ado, some poetry

 

DAY 2: DISCOVER 

Come with me, beloved one
Walk through the dirt
Towards the sun
Away from hurt
And through the trees
Come discover
Life with me. 

 

 

DAY 3: BOOTS (a haiku)

Knee high riding boots
Slide into saddle stirrups
The lawman comes home.

 

DAY 4: EXOTIC (a sonnet)

Guava fruit with strawberries
Pineapple fresh, a juicy treat
Honey made by special bees
For all the world is ours, my sweet

 

Avocados ripe and green
Soft and decadent and fresh.
A world of taste remains unseen
Flavor waiting to enmesh.

 

Star fruit and rambutan with rice

Njera, pita, crepes, and naan

Halo-Halo packed with ice

Breakfast served at break of dawn.

 

Through cakes and pies and rich fondue
I would give the world to you

 

DAY 5: Binoculars

I sat for hours waiting
for a flame throated warbler to land.
I sat for hours waiting
With binoculars in hand. 
I sat for hours waiting
For that last call from you.
I won't spend hours waiting
For love that isn't true. 

 

A sonnet! I've always found that to be the most intimidating of the poetry forms for some reason, so nicely done (for all, not just the sonnet, I like reading poetry but can't write it well, so I'm thoroughly impressed by those who can). Also, is a flame throated warbler a thing? Because if it is, I need to see one.

[Everstorm]

#6 Trek

 

How could I not?

 

 

I attempted exotic and binoculars,  but I wasn't happy with the results, so I'll keep those to myself.

[Ranger Hal]

Skipped #4 and #5 and probably won't go back to do them later (just not feeling it), but here's this one. Not thrilled with how it turned out, but drawing all the trees was fun.

[Artemis Prime]

I admit, I gave a brief thought to rhyming with binoculars on Friday and just wasn't feeling it. Will jump back in soon though, you guys are all doing amazing stuff!

[obax]

2 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I admit, I gave a brief thought to rhyming with binoculars on Friday and just wasn't feeling it. Will jump back in soon though, you guys are all doing amazing stuff!

 

I was so curious how you were going to rhyme binoculars... I guess we'll never know

[Artemis Prime]

1 hour ago, obax said:

 

I was so curious how you were going to rhyme binoculars... I guess we'll never know

Far be it from me to deny my adoring fans!

 

Neither insightful nor jocular

but you cannot be too particular

when the rhyme quest

gives you such a test

As to end a limerick with binoculars.

[Artemis Prime]

On 10/6/2024 at 11:26 AM, obax said:

Also, is a flame throated warbler a thing? Because if it is, I need to see one.

I believe that requires a trip to Central America. But yes!

[Sea-to-sky]

Late to the party but looks fab! will chip in if i have the energy ?

[Artemis Prime]

On 10/6/2024 at 9:10 PM, Everstorm said:

#6 Trek

 

How could I not?

 

 

 

You inspired me.

 

A post-scarcity world and top notch tech

Don't let Riker drive - that's how D wrecked

La Forge makes it go

Picard makes it so

On the Next Generation of Trek

[Artemis Prime]

Not my best work, but that's okay. At least I'm catching up

#7 Passport

 

From palaces grand to the most severe fort

A night in a penthouse, a night in a yurt

I long to see it all

Both the glory and the fall

The world is my oyster - but where's my passport?

[Ranger Hal]

[Everstorm]

#8 Hike

 

Would love to through-hike the Appalachian Trail and end up at this terminal summit in Maine.

 

[obax]

On 10/7/2024 at 6:51 PM, Artemis Prime said:

Far be it from me to deny my adoring fans!

 

Neither insightful nor jocular

but you cannot be too particular

when the rhyme quest

gives you such a test

As to end a limerick with binoculars.

 

I tip my hat to you, my friend! Most impressive!

 

13 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

 

You inspired me.

 

A post-scarcity world and top notch tech

Don't let Riker drive - that's how D wrecked

La Forge makes it go

Picard makes it so

On the Next Generation of Trek

 

That second line is perfection. This warms my nerdy little heart 

 

1 hour ago, Everstorm said:

#8 Hike

 

Would love to through-hike the Appalachian Trail and end up at this terminal summit in Maine.

 

 

There's a part of me that would love to do a trail like that, and another part of me that really likes my bed... 

[obax]

I definitely had an idea for trek that I have now completely forgotten... I've got nothing for passport, and hike feels too close to trek. Unless I get my idea back I'm officially skipping them all, because apparently I'm grumpy tonight? 

[Ranger Hal]

4 hours ago, obax said:

and hike feels too close to trek.

I hear you on that. I might skip that one as well for similar reasons.

[Everstorm]

There are a few that are repetitive imo